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BBC news 2012-08-16

BBC News with Jerry Smit

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have urged all their citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately. It follows a threat from a Lebanese Shia clan to kidnap people from those countries. The al-Meqdad clan has abducted a number of Syrians in Lebanon who it says are connected to the rebels in Syria. It says it's retaliating for the capture by Syrian rebels of a family member in Damascus. Kevin Connolly is in Beirut.

The al-Meqdads, who are thought to be heavily involved in smuggling, have been described as a family with its own military wing. To force the release of the man held in Syria, it now has taken at least 30 Sunni Muslim hostages in Lebanon – most of them Syrian. They've made it clear they hold governments of mainly Sunni states like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar responsible for the rebels' actions – a view which prompted the Saudi government to warn its citizens to get out of Lebanon. If the affair isn't resolved, it has the capacity to bring the growing sectarian bitterness of Syria into Lebanon, which has a similar patchwork of ethnic and religious groupings.

In their latest report on the conflict in Syria, United Nations human rights investigators say war crimes have been committed by both government forces and opposition groups. The report says systematic violations, including torture, murder and rape have been committed by the government side; war crimes have been committed by the rebels too, the report adds, but not to the same extent.

Here in Britain, Queen Elizabeth's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, has been admitted to hospital for the second time this year. Buckingham Palace has said he's suffered a recurrence of bladder infection which he had in June. Our royal correspondent Peter Hunt reports.

At 91, despite insisting last year he was sort of winding down, Prince Philip has maintained a busy schedule in recent months. Last week, he was in a jovial mood at a garden party on the grounds of the Queen's 50,000-acre Scottish state, Balmoral; and at the start of this week, he attended the Cowes Regatta on the Isle of Wight. It was after he returned to the Highlands that the prince began to feel unwell. He was taken by ambulance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. He's likely to receive retreatment on a ward of the infirmary for the next few days.

India's Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has confirmed his country's plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to orbit the Mars. He made the announcement in a speech to mark Independence Day. With more, here's our South Asia editor Jill McGivering.

Mr Singh described the mission to Mars as a huge step forward for India in science and technology. The total cost of the mission is expected to exceed $100m. This is the latest phase in a space program which is a matter of great national pride, but it's already proving controversial – most of the prime minister's speech focused on India's need for more jobs, more electricity and more health services. Critics of the space program say the millions might be better spent on development.

World News from the BBC

Judicial authorities in the United States have issued subpoenas to seven prominent international banks in connection with investigations into rigging a key interest rate. The attorneys general of New York and Connecticut have asked Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS to give information to the investigations. They face legal action if they refuse. Last month, Barclays was fined $451m.

The Brazilian government has unveiled a major public investment plan to boost its slowing economy. Brazilian business leaders welcomed the announcement. Paulo Cabral reports from Brazil.
Private companies will be granted concessions for almost 8,000km off roads in exchange for a private investment of almost $20bn over the next five years. The plan also includes public and private investments for either revamping or building another 8,000km of railways. In this first part of the plan, the government has only announced investments in roads and railways, but new projects are expected over the next few weeks involving ports and airports.

One of the top clubs in English football, Manchester United, has agreed to buy the striker Robin van Persie from rivals Arsenal for more than $37m. The Dutchman was the Premier League's leading scorer last season with 30 goals to his name. Van Persie still has to agree personal terms and complete a medical examination ahead of the move.

A Polish windsurfer, who won a bronze medal of the London Olympics, says she plans to auction it to raise money for her sick neighbor. Zofia Noceti-Klepacka says the money will go towards the treatment of five-year-old Zuzanna Bobinska, who has cystic fibrosis. Before the Games, Ms Noceti-Klepacka vowed to win a medal for the girl. Cystic fibrosis can drastically reduce life expectancy.